Is the next Israel Folau or Nick Phipps hiding among Orange Emus’ and Orange City’s up-and-comers?
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It’s probably a touch too early to tell, but both of the NSW Waratahs and Wallabies superstars said there’s a real chance.
Folau and Phipps, among a host of other Waratahs, were on hand at Endeavour Oval on Monday to put a group of more than 50 juniors through their paces, on their way through to Mudgee for Saturday’s trial game against the ACT Brumbies.
“There’s definitely plenty of potential and a lot of talent out here,” Folau said, just before being mobbed by the gleeful youngsters.
“It’s great to see these young kids pursuing their dreams, so hopefully we see a lot of these young kids get to a stage where they push for higher honours.”
“I’m not sure if they’d want to be the next Phipps, it’d be nice if the next Israel Folau was around here though,” Phipps laughed.
“You know bush kids, they’re the tough ones, the ones that work hard and don’t take anything for granted so it’s certainly not far fetched to say there’s a couple of Wallabies among the group.
“Hopefully we’ll see them running around for the Orange Emus and Orange City Lions soon and then moving on to the Wallabies after that.”
There’s definitely plenty of potential and a lot of talent out here.
- Waratahs and Wallabies star Israel Folau
The Waratahs ran the group through some basic drills, signed plenty of autographs and mingled among the bulging crowd, before heading into camp at Lake Burrendong on Monday night.
“We all really enjoy doing this sort of thing, it’s great to give back to the supporters, the fans and the grassroots level and put a smile on all the kids’ faces,” Folau said.
“I’ve got a few mates who live just outside of Orange, near Molong, so it’s always good to get out here and to get out of the city,” Phipps added.
“We know more than anything these kids are starved of professional players and sports coming here so it’s great to be able to come out this way and put some smiles on kids’ faces.
“We know, being in the position we are, that whatever we do here with the kids will leave a lasting impression and hopefully that can help these kids not just keep playing rugby, but keep playing sport in general and staying active.
“That’s something we all genuinely enjoy doing.”
Folau said the trip through the Central West is the perfect springboard for the Waratahs leading into the Super Rugby season.
“It’s great to get away as a team … the boys are all excited the season’s just around the corner,” he said.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
